The Typology of Rural Corruption in China

• In Event: Corruption and Bribery

Abstract

Rural related corruption China manifests itself differently in terms of forms and intensity over time. This paper analyzes rural related corruption from court sentencing documents over a 13-year period (1993-2015) and government rural sector related anti-corruption policies. From these data sources, a typology of rural corruption is developed. The typology findings indicate that rural related corruption in China is a particular type of white-collar crime. It embraces a mixed dimension of political crime, economic crime, corporate crime, environmental crime, and crimes in social control systems, such as the police. The across time analysis demonstrates an increase of diversity and intensity of rural corruption. An analysis of the historical context of these cases identifies three obvious stages of rural related corruption, with each stage possessing different determinants and explanations. The causes have both institutional and individual behavior explanations. Since the end of 2012, a more routine supervisory-style through institutionalized anti-corruption governance has developed. In matching with this unprecedented anti-corruption momentum, this study tries to provide China rural development policy recommendations for rural China by performing assessments to identify and prioritize risks, thus developing appropriate mitigation strategies.

Author

• Qingli Meng, University of Northern Iowa